This invention relates to the field of devices for washing clothing or other flexible articles.
Anyone who has played sports, or lived with a person who plays sports such as football or hockey or like sports requiring the wearing of protective armour such as helmets, boots, shoulder pads and the like, is aware that, although the manufacturer of the equipment likely allows for the washing of such equipment, such equipment is only infrequently washed by hand due to the bulky nature of the pieces of equipment and hard armour which make using a conventional residential washing machine or laundromat washing machine tedious, difficult and in some cases impossible. Further, in some instances sports apparel, such as ballerina""s shoes, cannot be washed in conventional washing machines due to the nature of the apparel, for example, due to fragility of the material, or otherwise. Other flexible articles such as harnesses for lifting bed-ridden invalids often become soiled and require washing. Due to their construction washing of such harnesses has in the past been done by hand.
Certainly, in the prior art, conventional washing machines, for example of the variety which have a wash tub with a generally centrally disposed vertically upright washing agitator, restrict the number or size of articles of sports equipment that may be washed at one time. Consequently, numerous washing cycles are required to merely wash one complete outfit of sports equipment, and larger items may not fit into the washing machine at all. Further, it has been found that the movement of the agitator causes damage to the equipment.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device and in a preferred embodiment a cooperating bag, mesh container, or the like, so that flexible apparel or most if not all of a sports equipment outfit may be placed into an easily accessible washing cage or basket, wherein the cage or basket is selectively closable and, once closed, agitatable within a water tight enclosure such as a washing machine tub. Specifically, it is an object to hold the article to be washed fixed in the cage or basket, and to move the entire cage or basket relative to the enclosure to obtain the flushing of water in and around the articles.
In the prior art, Applicant is aware of various patents relating to the placement of cages or baskets within clothes dryers. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,548 and 4,109,397 which issued to Daily for a Door Mounted Stationary Drying Rack and a Rotatable, Non-Tumbling Drying Rack Respectively disclose how to place articles into conventional tumbling dryers so as to prevent articles placed into the dryer being, in the first instance, rotated, and in the second instance tumbled. In the first Daily teaches a drying rack that maintains article stationary within an open lattice-work basket while the clothes dryer executes its tumble dry cycle. The basket is maintained stationary relative to the rotating drum of the dryer by being mounted to the dryer door. In the second instance, the basket is mounted to the drum of the dryer and provided with a cover which may be closed into the basket so as to apply pressure to articles in the basket so as to hold the articles stationary within the basket as the basket is rotated in the dryer drum.
Applicant is also aware of U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,025 which issued to Jordon, Jr. for a Dryer Basket for Sneakers Insertable into a Clothes Dryer. As with the Daily ""397 patent, Jordan, Jr. discloses the use of an open lattice-work basket mountable into the drum of a clothes dryer. A plurality of such baskets are mounted within the drum in radially spaced relation, removably secured within the drum adjacent to the drum tumbler veins. The baskets are adapted for holding sneakers within the dryer drum, for tumbling of the sneakers without the noise that would otherwise be associated with the loose tumbling of sneakers in the dryer drum. Ballast is provided for placement into the baskets, the placement of the ballast serving to maintain a balance load within the dryer.
Applicant is further aware of U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,095 which issued to Laue et al for a Delicate Goods Tray which, similar to the Daily ""548 patent teaches an open lattice container for holding articles stationary during turning of a dryer drum. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,743 which issued to Barnard for a Dryer Insert, Holder, Container and U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,979 which issued to Gordon, Sr. for a Shoe Drying Support Apparatus, both teach mounting an open lattice container into the drum of a dryer, the former for holding hosiery, tennis shoes and the like, and the latter two position canvas-type shoes and the like within the dryer drum. Both devices employ a telescoping rod to secure the container within the drum for rotation therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,771 which issued to Bonar for a Combination Clothes and Dish Washer and Dryer discloses converting a clothes washer to a dish washer by removing the clothes washer agitator and installing a basket for holding dishes. A hot air dryer structure is mounted into the washer to dry the dishes when the clothes washer is used as a dish washer. In particular, an air dryer blower is provided for circulating hot air through the inside of the washing machine cabinet.
In summary, the washing machine of the present invention includes a frame, a tub rigidly mounted to the frame, and at least one basket rotatably mounted inside the tub. The basket is an open-lattice sided container having a releasably closable lid. The basket is adapted for holding articles of apparel or other flexible articles substantially stationary relative to the basket as the basket is rotated relative to the tub. A water supply cooperates with the tub for washing and rinsing the articles held in the basket.
In one preferred embodiment, a mesh bag is provided for holding the articles. The mesh bag may be removably securable within the basket and may be compartmentalized for simultaneously holding various articles in spaced apart array. The mesh bag may include a main compartment of a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape mountable into the basket so as to lay the mesh bag flat.
The basket may be sized so as to fit therein the mesh bag folded in half and laid flat. A rigid, open-lattice spacer may be provided for placing sandwiched between folded-over halves of the mesh bags.
In a further aspect, the present invention may be described as washing and drying device for flexible articles. The device includes a watertight housing, a rotatable frame rotatably mounted within the housing for rotation of the frame about an axis of rotation, a plurality of water porous baskets mounted to the frame. Each basket has a releasably securable lid and means for securing the flexible articles in the basket so as to releasably hold the articles substantially stationary relative to the basket as the frame is rotated relative to the housing. A selectively controllable drive rotates the frame relative to the housing. A wash water supply and drain cooperate with the housing for, respectively, pressurized supply of wash water into contact with the baskets, and for draining the wash water. A forced air dryer may be mounted to the housing for drying the articles in the baskets as the baskets are rotated on the frame relative to the housing.
Advantageously, the forced air dryer has an inlet mounted to the housing at a first position on the housing, and an exhaust outlet mounted to the housing at a second position on the housing. A second position is radially spaced from the first position about the axis of rotation so that, when rotated about the axis of rotation in a first direction, a basket rotates a first distance from the inlet to the exhaust outlet. When rotated about the axis of rotation in a second direction opposite to the first direction about the axis of rotation, the basket rotates a second distance from the inlet to the exhaust outlet. When the first and second distances are not equal, during a drying cycle the frame and the baskets are rotated so as to pass from the inlet to the exhaust outlet along which ever distance is the longer distance of either the first or second distances. This provides a maximum dwell time in the housing of an airstream forced into the housing through the inlet into drying contact with the articles in the baskets before the airstream exits the housing through the exhaust outlet.
The wash water supply may comprise at least one spray nozzle for injecting wash water into the housing in a spray directed to include a portion of the spray perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The spray nozzles may include a pair of banks of spray nozzles radially spaced apart in the housing about the axis of rotation.
In a further aspect of the present invention each basket is drawer-mounted into the frame for sliding removal or exposure of each basket from the frame. A door in the housing provides access to the frame. The lid on each basket is operable once the basket is slid from inside the frame through the door so as to facilitate loading and unloading the articles from the basket. The frame may include slides so that each basket may be slid on the slides generally parallel to the axis of rotation through the door. Further, the slides may be telescopic slides mounted in sliding cooperation to the frame and to each basket. The frame may be rotated so as to sequentially position each basket adjacent the door for sequential access to the plurality of baskets.
In yet a further aspect, the housing is a cylindrical drum radially symmetric about the axis of rotation and the frame is a cage symmetrically shaped relative to the axis of rotation, wherein the plurality of water porous baskets are mounted in radially spaced array on the cage, radially spaced about the axis of rotation. The baskets are slidably mounted on the cage for sliding of each basket from the housing when the cage is stationary before engaging a washing or drying cycle of the device.
Advantageously, the baskets are open-lattice rigid baskets and further comprise an air and fluid porous spacer for placing between the articles when held within each basket for facilitating fluid and air flow between the articles. Each basket may be generally rectangular, one side of the basket conformally curved to correspond in shape to a cylindrical inner surface of the housing. The cage may be a cylindrical frame-work of rigid hoops held rigidly apart and rigidly perpendicular to a center axis member by radially spaced apart spokes, the center axis member co-axial with the axis of rotation. The hoops are sized for snug fitment within the inner surface of the housing. The inner surface of the housing may be a rigid perforated liner spaced radially inwardly from an exterior cylindrical wall of the housing. Each the basket may further comprise a removable compartmentalized porous bag releasably mountable into each the basket. The bag may be sized to fold over the spacer and when so folded to snugly fit into the basket. The compartments within the bag are porous and sized to firmly hold specific articles within the bag in an optimized spatial relationship relative to the frame and the housing when the bag is releasably mounted in a basket for optimized washing penetration of the wash water into and through the articles and for optimized penetration of drying air into or through the articles. The articles may be held in the bag in a substantially laid-flat orientation relative to an inner side of the basket, the inner side radially innermost in relation to the axis of rotation.
In a further alternative aspect the washer may be either top loading or side loading containing a cylindrically shaped basket or drum which is open at the proximal end and closed at the distal end. An elongate supporting sleeve, passing axially through the drum along its axis of rotation and mounted to the drum at its closed distal end, permits the drum to be mounted over a drive axle for cooperative rotation therewith.
The interior of the drum may be compartmentalized so as to adjustably provide for larger or smaller items to be washed by placing one or more removable baffles or other compartmentalizing walls radially between the supporting sleeve and the interior surface of the drum. The baffles may extend parallel to the sleeve, from the closed distal end of the drum to the open proximal end. In this embodiment of the present invention reference to basket or drum is used interchangeably to include water porous cylinders mountable in a washing machine for rotation about a co-axial axis of symmetry and rotation of the cylinder.
In this embodiment the cylinders have removable compartmentalizing walls forming first compartments within the container. A second container or containers, referred to herein as equipment containers or mesh bags, are mountable or mounted in the first compartments. The second containers themselves have second compartments for holding the items to be washed substantially stationary relative to the cylinder and separated to avoid the items balling, knotting or packing against the cylinder walls during centrifugal spin drying.
Radially spaced about the interior surface of both the drum and the exterior surface of the supporting sleeve are elongated baffle connectors or mounting strips. The connectors may be tee-shaped in cross section so as to have the cross flange spaced outwardly from the adjacent surfaces of the drum and supporting sleeve respectively. The connectors are also mounted parallel to the supporting sleeve and may extend from the closed distal end of the drum to a position adjacent the open proximal end of the drum.
An open channel member formed on a pair of opposing edges of each baffle enables the baffle to slidably engage and be releasably retained in position by the connectors on the supporting sleeve and the inside face of the drum so as to form a radially spaced array of baffles extending from the sleeve to the drum wall, radially adjustably spaced about the axis of rotation of the drum.